Availability: July-October
Storage tips: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Pac Choi should last at least a week.
How to eat: Pac choi is a crunchy Asian green that’s great in stir-fries. It can also be added to a miso or other Asian flavored soup. I also like its crunch raw in salad. Preparation is similar to that of lettuce heads: peel off each individual leaf stalk, wash behind its "ears", and then chop as desired in your dish. You can also use them whole if they're smaller, either roasted or braised. Just make sure to rinse it very well as little bits of dirt can get stuck in behind.
Here's a picture of each stalk removed and ready to be chopped for stir-fry.
How to preserve:
1. Frozen: Chop clean leaves, arrange on cookie sheet, and freeze for a few hours. Then put into ziplock bags with all the air squeezed out. The texture will not be quite as good when thawed, but would work for soups and other cooked applications. You can also blanche and freeze, but it will come out more mushy.
2. Fermented: Make a quick kimchi with your pac choi. Here's a download that tells you how to make Kimchi:
Heat oil in skillet and sauté garlic and ginger quickly for 10 seconds. Add pac choi, water, soy sauce, and hot pepper. Simmer covered until fork tender, about 5-10 minutes, depending on size. Flip pac choi halfway through to cook evenly.
I have kale and pac choi listed here as the greens for this recipe. But, it will be wonderful with any type of greens that you have on hand: spinach, swiss chard, etc. Use this recipe to branch out and get creative.
1 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 bunch radishes
½ bunch kale, ribs removed, leaves sliced thinly
1 head pac choi, washed and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons oil
2 eggs, beaten
2-4 garlic scapes, minced
2 cups cooked, cold rice
salt and pepper to taste
Lightly boil radishes and greens in broth separately, about 1-2 min each. Drain. Heat oil in large skillet (or wok) on medium-high. Add eggs and scramble 1 min. Remove. Add radishes, greens, and garlic scapes and sauté 1-2 min, stirring. Add rice and stir to mix and heat through. Add eggs, salt, and pepper to taste.
This recipe is flexible with the greens. You can use any kind of Asian greens or other greens besides like kale or Swiss chard. And/or add other veggies like thinly sliced or grated carrots or Chinese cabbage. Yum!
In large skillet saute onion in cooking oil over med-high heat until softening. Add turnip roots and cook 2-3 min. Add pac choi stems and turnip greens and stir fry 3-5 min. Add pac choi leaves and garlic and cook 2-3 min. Mix together remaining ingredients, add to skillet and cook 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.
2-3 heads pac choi, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 garlic scape, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Heat oil in skillet to medium hot. Add garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds, stirring. Add pac choi and mushrooms and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add soy sauce and serve immediately.
Dressing:
Combine the veggies in bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and whisk to emulsify. Pour dressing over salad and garnish with sesame seeds.
1 bunch, pac choi, thinly sliced
½ bunch carrots, thinly sliced
½ bunch salad turnips, thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
½+ teaspoon salt or to taste
Toss above ingredients in a bowl. Then, pour over the following dressing, whisked together:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 garlic scape, minced
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
Toss slaw together, let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes, and serve!
1-2 TBSP cooking oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
24 Oregon Giant snow peas (or substitute snap peas), chopped
1 TSP minced ginger root
2 heads pac choi
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 TSP red chili flakes
Dressing:
3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 TBSP soy sauce
Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions and cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add snow peas and ginger and cook another 2 minutes. Add chopped stalks of pac choi and cook 2 minutes. Then add pac choi leaves, garlic, chili flakes and stir-fry until leaves wilt down. Remove from heat. Pour over the dressing and serve hot. Serves 2-4.
